Well, I have strated doing some training with Abel in training mode along with some trials. Tomorrow I think I will do some actual matches if I get some time to play. So far, his combos are relatively much easier to execute than most of Fuerte's, but he has a much harder time getting close to some characters. I will reserve judgement on him for now until I try him out in some matches...

games_soul

Anyone wanna go for some matches with their new GUP characters? I'll be up on XBL tonight.

martialbullet

*groooooooaaaaaannn*

I gotta hand it to you guys, the Sagat pick was effing dastardly. I'm bored outta my freakin' skull with this guy, and I have had it with not being able to move around quickly. I got so accustomed to zipping around the screen at mach speed. Sagat walks like he's in a three-legged race with an invisible monkey, AND his shoelaces are tied together. I am fully and completely out of my comfort zone, so, mission accomplished fellas.

But, this was the whole point, so I'm looking forward to finishing out the month. Only two days in, I have to admit that Sagat's links are a lot tougher to land than I'd ever expected, so I definitely have plenty to get good at. So far, I've only been able to play against DC, and if not for the fact that Sagat is a freakin' statue, I probably wouldn't have the win ratio that I currently have. I'm a pretty lousy Sagat so far, but the emmer-effer hits hard as balls, so it doesn't really look like it on the surface.

For DC: your Gouken is seriously leveling up, bro. You started winning when you started implementing demon flips, the mk crossup, and fireballs from range (the first two of which I said you should start focusing on). It also helped that you stopped barrelling at me with full-screen rush punches, since those give me a million years to react to (read: blast you into next week via Tiger Upper or Ultra). My reactions are pretty marginal, man, so if I can do that, you can bet tons of other players will too. That aside, you were also making very good use of his normals (I kick myself for exposing how potent his s.RH is...), and you're getting ballsy with EX rush punch options, which I like. Just remember that Gouken's combos, all told, are relatively easy to do, so go nuts. If you can land Akuma BnB, Gouken's are a snap. Just takes some time to find that comfort level and get in the zone.

Thoughts on my Sagat?

The Ground-Up Project

The votes are in. Player/character matchups have been decided, and are final as of midnight tonight (your time, wherever you may be). For the next 30 days, play no other character than the one selected for you here. This goes for all modes, at all times. The one and only exception is in practice mode, you may set the AI opponent to "replay" in order to learn how to get past certain moves/situations. "What can I do to beat lariat spam," or, "how can I beat air fireballs," or, "what do I have that beats electricity," for example. The other stipulation is that you play SFIV as often as you ordinarily would have to begin with, and (no ****) get some matches in with each other as much as possible.

Don't ask me if it's okay to cheat this way or that. The rules are clear, and it's not like any of this can be enforced anyway. It comes down to self-discipline. You either have what it takes to live up to your word, or you don't - simple as that. It's supposed to be hard. That's the ****in' point.

Matchups are as follows:

DarkCatalyst: Gouken
ShenlongBo: Sagat
Kreatzion: Sakura
MartialBullet: Rufus
Metamania: Honda
LikeHaterade: Fei Long
games_soul: Abel

If I made an actual mistake on the counts for anyone, please let me know. If not, no *****ing. There'll be a Ground-Up Project Tournament the weekend of the 20th, if you guys are down. MS Points card to the winner, and I'll exclude myself from it since I'm buying it/hosting... and because I got beast-mode Sagat as my character.

[QUOTE="ShenlongBo"]

Ground-Up Project starts Monday, and will end 30 calendar days after that.

Metamania

Ground-Up Project starts Monday, and will end 30 calendar days after that.

Also, if you guys wanted me to have a combo character, why didn't you guys pick me Ken or Ryu? Argh!!!

Kreatzion

Hey guys, I gotta go in to work tonight, so can someone get us an accurate count on the votes? Let's finalize this thing so we can kick it off on Sunday, yeah?

DarkCatalyst: Gouken, Zangief, Seth, Cammy, C. Viper
ShenlongBo: Sagat (x2), Dhalsim, Ryu, Blanka
Kreatzion: Sakura (x4), E. Honda
MartialBullet: Rufus (x2), Blanka, Vega
Metamania: Honda (x2), Guile, Zangief, Chun-Li
LikeHaterade: Fei Long (x3), Balrog, Zangief
games_soul: Abel (x3)

That look right to everyone so far? As it stands we mainly just need games_soul to throw in his nominations, then we can pull the trigger on this thing. Keep in mind, g_s, that you can help settle any tie-breakers (like with DC), with your noms, so you don't have to find new ones for everyone unless you really feel inclined to.

Also, we still have a few individual votes that can be made, such as Kreatzion and DC on g_s's behalf, and so on. We'll call this the final day for voting, so get 'em in, guys.

Thanks Meta, your reasoning seems sound. If everyone else agrees then Abel it is!

games_soul

As for playing other characters during the Project, it's like this: there's no way to enforce anything here, and nobody's gonna stop being friends with anyone over any aspect of this. what you do is what you do, and that's fine. That being said, part of what makes this whole thing exciting is the prospect of being thrust out into the open with a new character. That feeling of, "omg, how am I ever going to win with this..." is part and parcel to the whole spirit of the Ground-Up Project. Without that commitment to do something that goes against your sensibilities, you're robbing yourself of the best part of what this whole Project is about. Trust me, I was not thrilled to have to play Gen for a solid month. Believe me. It was scary, I thought I could never get good with him, and I wondered if I'd made a mistake. One month later, I couldn't have been happier that I'd held on for the entire month, and that's exactly what I'm looking to experience again. Trust me, the thought of playing Sagat for a month, by itself, is not something that I am thrilled about. That feeling I'll have after 30 days of it, though - that is something I can look forward to.

So, I encourage you to go full-on with it, man. Again, whatever you do is whatever you do, but it's worth it to play nothing but your Project main for the entirety of the month. Speaking of, I have to agree with Haterade and MM on their selection of Abel. For one thing, Haterade already has a solid track record when it comes to choosing mains for people (everyone can blame my Gen on him). Plus, as a fellow Fuerte player, I trust his instincts on that. Then, considering MM already spent a month as Abel and is wholeheartedly endorsing the pick, it just really sounds like the insight is there. So call that three votes for games_soul/Abel.

Sorry I'm late guys, I should have updated on my strengths and weaknesses sooner, but Rufus looks good to me.

Ok, here's my noms...

DC: I choose C. Viper just cause :P He seems to be an all around kind of player, but I'd like to see how well he can use her.

Shen: I already chose Dhalsim for you, but you can make it 2 if you want :P

Kreatzion: I think I've seen him do well with E. Honda, so Sakura does seem like a very good choice as long ashe doesnt head to the level of Shen's Sabre inspired monster so easily. Or maybe he will. So Sakura it is.

MM: I've seen a bit of the way you play, and I think Chun Li is a nice character to expand your twitch skills. I course I may be forgetting things here, you haven't used Chun prominently, right?

LikeHaterade: Anything that doesn't involve speed or reach. Zangief :lol:

martialbullet